Broome

The town is the pearl of the Kimberley; a place with a history as intriguing and diverse as the many charming local characters.

Broome History

The first non-indigenous person to visit Broome’s shores was William Damper in 1688, sailing aboard the H.M.S Roebuck. His meticulous journals charting the area and descriptions of the rich pearl shell beds, led to the ‘official’ discovery of Broome and the eventual pearl industry.

In 1879, local politician, publisher and pearler, Charles Harper, suggested Roebuck Bay be turned into a port, to better serve Broome’s pearling industry. And so, the port of Broome was born.

In 1883 John Forrest, WA’s first Premier, chose the site for the town in Roebuck Bay and named it Broome, after the Governor of WA, Sir Frederick Broome. The first sale of Town Lots took place in 1886 and by 1889 a new telegraph cable linked the town and Australia to the rest of the world.

Indigenous Culture

The Kimberley

Broome is the gateway to the Kimberley, one of the most stunning and unique regions in the world.

The Kimberley is over 420,000 square kilometres – twice the size of Victoria and about three times the size of England. And within this vast area is a huge range of breathtaking sights.

Much of the Kimberley is dominated by incredible mountain ranges, where the monsoonal climate has removed most of the soil, to reveal deep cut sandstone and limestone gorges. There are a number of spectacular gorges with beautiful swimming holes and magnificent rushing waterfalls that are accessible by scenic flights or 4WD

World’s Best Beaches

Other famous, natural wonders you will find in The Kimberley are the beautiful beaches. The most recognised, being Cable Beach, stretching 23 kilometres with huge tidal rises of up to 9 metres.

Cape Leveque is also revered for its outstanding coastline and vast, unspoiled beaches. These beaches are ideal for swimming and on the Western side of the Cape you can watch the sunset. Middle Lagoon is another popular beachside destination, with turtles, whales, and fishing – and also showcases, magnificent views and sunsets.

The Iconic Red-dirt

The Kimberley is renowned for the colour of the pindan (red-soil) found only in Dampierland; the bioregion within The Kimberley. This distinctive red landscape has its own unique fauna, including wattles and eucalypts – and wildlife, such as the Agile Wallabies and Red-winged Parrots. Pindan has become iconic throughout Australia and the rest of the world – and is one of the foremost identifying features of this great region.

A Land to Astonish You

The Kimberley is also a region of surprises, with numerous sites that can only be found in this unique part of the world. One of the most stunning examples would have to be the Bungle Bungle range. Like nothing else on earth, the striped sandstone domes are over 350 million years old. Witnessing the majestic site and walking among the giant rocks is simply awe-inspiring.

Lake Argyle is Australia’s largest expanse of freshwater. The massive span of permanent freshwater was once subject to the cycles of the wet and dry seasons, but now is a wetland with a thriving new eco-system – home to over 150,000 native birds, freshwater crocodiles and a large array of fish species. Study the amazing wildlife, enjoy some of the world’s best fishing, or just cruise the lake, taking in all the natural beauty.

Cable Beach

Any visitor to Broome would be familiar with the magnificent Cable Beach. One of Australia’s most famous and spectacular beaches renowned for its pristine white sand, crystal clear water – and of course the amazing sunsets. Part of its unique charm is the many ways to explore the beach – walks, 4wd, camel trains in the popular Sunset Camel Tours, or sunset cruises.

Adjoining Cable Beach and only 10 minutes from the town centre, Gantheaume Point is a truly spectacular location. Keen photographers will love the views from the cliffs, budding paleontologists will be excited by the dinosaur footprint casts and anyone who appreciates beauty will be enthralled by the turquois water against the deep red cliffs.

Pearling

Broome is a town shaped by its history; and the allure of illustrious pearls certainly made its mark here. In 1861, the pearling crew of the ‘Dolphin’ discovered the first Pinctada maxima, a giant, dazzling pearl oyster, thought to be the largest in the world. Word spread of the discovery throughout Asia, Europe and America and many – particularly the Chinese, Japanese, Malays, Filipinos and Javanese – began to flock to Broome’s shores with the hope of ‘making it big’ in pearling.

By the late 1870s there was indeed a growing pearl industry, as demand grew for the ‘mother of pearl’ – used in buttons, cutlery and jewellery. Within three years the area was supplying 80% of the world’s ‘mother of pearl’ shell.

Around 1881 after the industrial revolution, pearling became much more sophisticated and modernised, when various ships arrived at Roebuck Bay with never-before-seen pearl diving equipment. The helmets and diving apparatus allowed divers to source larger volume of shells, and as expected, pearling boomed.

It wasn’t exactly ‘pearls and wealth for all’, as the divers faced extreme dangers; such as drowning, sharks, jellyfish, high winds, cyclones and diving-related illnesses like ‘the bends.’ Local indigenous men and women were recruited to work on the pearl luggers – the conditions were harsh and many died. Many Japanese divers died diving for pearls – many of them commemorated in the Broome Japanese Cemetery.

When World War 1 was declared, hundreds of pearl divers hurried to enlist. This had a huge impact on Broome’s pearling industry and with economic strife brought on by the war, ‘mother of pearl’ was no longer in high demand. Broome suffered greatly until 1920, when the world – and therefore the pearling industry – began to recover from the war.

The eclectic mixture of colonial pearlers lead to the diverse culture of Broome today – with a vast array of cultures settling in this remote town. Pearls are now produced on farms, remaining as one of Broome’s primary industries, and are renowned as being one of the world’s most sought-after pearls.

Indigenous Culture

The history of Broome and the Kimberley region dates long before the arrival of Europeans and hopeful pearl divers. The Yawuru people have inhabited the region for thousands of years. Their culture is survived through oral traditions, which promote the heritage, culture and learning of the region’s indigenous inhabitants.

The Yawuru people are closely connected to the land – and this connection is as much practical as it is spiritual. The local indigenous people believe that Minyirr Park (Minyirr meaning ‘birthplace’), located behind the Cable Beach dunes, is the site where Aboriginal people were created. It is their traditional belief that three groups of people formed by spirits came from the sea and moved inland, singing life into existence and creating language groups, tribes, sacred law and culture.

There are many important indigenous sights around Broome where you can explore the myriad of spiritual stories.